1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a correction tape dispenser for laying down a strip or band of correction composition onto a surface, most usually paper, e.g. to cover markings thereon to facilitate the correction of a mistake.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are known correction tape dispensers which have supply and take-up spools for the tape mounted within a case to rotate about parallel axes with the supply spool being coupled to drive the take up spool through a slipping clutch arrangement. The case may be adapted to be held directly in the hand of the user, or it may form a cartridge which is inserted into a re-usable outer housing. A length of tape extending between the spools is guided to pass out of the casing and around a tip having a relatively sharp edge which is used to press the tape against the surface onto which the correction strip is to be applied. The tape consists of a ribbon, e.g. of plastics or paper, on one side of which is carried a coating of the correction composition, this coating being on the outer side of the ribbon when it passes around the tip. In use, the device is held in the hand and the tip is pressed down onto the paper surface so that its edge presses the tape against the surface across the full width of the tape. The correction composition has an adhesive quality and has greater adhesion to the paper than its carrier ribbon, so that when the tip is displaced across the paper surface in a direction perpendicular to the tip edge, the tip slides with respect to the ribbon causing tape to be drawn off the supply spool. The consequent rotation of the supply spool rotates the take-up spool so that a substantially constant tension is maintained in the tape and the take-up spool reels in the spent ribbon over which the tip has passed and from which the correction composition coating will have been deposited onto the paper surface. In this way a continuous strip of the correction composition is laid down onto the paper, this strip having a length according to the distance travelled by the dispenser tip.
The known correction tape dispensers operate satisfactorily as far as laying down the correction strip is concerned. However, they do require some practice to ensure that during displacement of the tip its edge is applied correctly against the paper. To a large extent the difficulty of ensuring the correct orientation of the tip is due to the device having to be held in an unnatural attitude, especially when the spools are arranged with their axes parallel to the tip edge.